Hours ago, I voted for legislation to help ensure the Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) would be funded to help students struggling to pay for college across the state. In my district alone, 1,503 students receive MAP grants.

During this tough economic time, everyone is struggling. Property taxes are placing an increased burden on families, and state government has had to review the multitude of ways we spend taxpayer dollars. Our economic problems, brought about by the recession, have also made students struggle to pay for rising college costs now more than ever.

Today, hundreds of students from across the state came to Springfield to become active participants in the legislative process. Each had a personal story about how the lack of funding of MAP grants has made their collegiate experience tougher. Amidst midterms, each of them could only think about how they would be able to continue their education after this semester without financial assistance.

When I passed a budget back in May, it was my hope that Governor Quinn would use 1.2 billion dollars in discretionary funds to fund critical state programs like MAP. Somewhere along the way the choice was made by the executive branch to only fund MAP for one semester. This is simply unacceptable and I am pleased that the actions taken today by the legislature will help students struggling to pay their tuition.